Containment system for continuous flow hydrolyzers

ABSTRACT

A material handling system for a hydrolyzer, comprising a material injection assembly further comprising a ram, a cylinder having a cylinder shaft for reciprocating the ram upon actuation of the cylinder shaft, a sleeve having an interior in which the ram reciprocates during use; a gate having a gate plate operable from between an open and a closed position; the gate plate has an aperture formed therethrough and the aperture is sized to enable a plug of compressed municipal solid waste to pass through it when the gate plate is in the open position; and a material exit assembly.  
     The preferred material handling system further comprises a gate plate is interpositioned between the pair of space apart end plates and reciprocates freely therebetween. The end plates are configured to allow a plug of municipal solid waste to pass therethrough. The material exit assembly further comprises a processed material handling apparatus including a processed material compaction chamber; and a plunger assembly attached to the compaction chamber and further including a working cylinder having a cylinder shaft and a ram operably connected to the shaft enabling the ram to compact the processed material within the compaction chamber upon actuation of the cylinder and the extension of the shaft therefrom.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to hydrolyzers forprocessing organic material (i.e., rendering) and further relatesgenerally to the apparatuses used for the rendering of animal carcassesor parts thereof into useful end products such as bone or feather meal.In addition, the present invention has proven particularly useful forprocessing (i.e., rendering) municipal solid waste even though thematerial characteristics of municipal solid waste and the rendering ofanimal carcass parts is distinctly different.

[0003] The present invention is primarily directed to a pressure vesselapparatus in the general nature of a hydrolyzer used for the reduction,decomposition, destruction and/or conversion (hereinafter “rendering”)of organic wastes generated during meat and poultry production for humanconsumption.

[0004] The present invention also relates generally to an innovativemethod of handling municipal solid waste disposal, reclamation andrecycling. Municipal solid waste (hereinafter “solid waste”) disposalcan be generally defined as the disposal of normally solid or semi-solidmaterials resulting from human and animal activities that are useless orunwanted, and not hazardous or toxic.

[0005] Solid wastes may be further classified in two groups as follows:“municipal solid waste” which is decomposable wastes from food, and“rubbish” which is either combustible wastes (such as paper, wood, andcloth) or non-combustible wastes (such as metal, glass, plastics andceramics).

[0006] The present invention is primarily directed to a system andapparatus for reducing and converting (hereinafter “processing”) ofsolid waste comprised of municipal solid waste and rubbish produced inthe home (hereinafter “Municipal Solid Waste” or “MSW”) and theequipment for carrying out such processing into a reusable end productor article.

[0007] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0008] Carcass disposal at meat and poultry farms is an importantenvironmental issue. Some of the standard methods, such as burial andincineration, no longer meet the needs of operators or existingregulations. For example, prompted by recent water and air qualityregulations, the poultry industry in some states and countries is givingcarcass disposal top priority by supporting efforts to promote and adoptalternative disposal methods. One environmentally sound alternative forthe disposal of dead birds is conventional rendering. Rendering is areclamation process designed to recover almost 100 percent of allinedible raw poultry material and render it useful.

[0009] Rendering is a heating process that extracts usable ingredients,such as protein meals and fats. Rendering has been used for many yearsto convert the inedible results from the slaughtering process into meatmeal, bone meal, and feather meal—all of which are highly valued asanimal feed ingredients. Today, rendering plants supply 85 percent ofall fats and oils used in the United States and export 35 percent of thefats and oils used worldwide. The rendering plant is a vital linkbetween the meat and poultry grower and industries which use fats andoils.

[0010] The rendering industry relies on the hydrolyzer apparatus as thecooking vessel to perform the actual rendering process. However, theseconventional hydrolyzer apparatuses which are commonly used as thecooking vessel in the rendering industry do not work when attempting torender various wastes such as municipal solid waste (“MSW”). Theseconventional vessels are prone to repeated and continuous clogging whentrying to process waste material such as MSW and thus require repeateddown time intervals and disassembly to empty the interior of the vessel.

[0011] Municipal solid waste disposal can be generally defined as thedisposal of normally solid or semi-solid materials resulting from humanand animal activities that are useless and unwanted and not hazardous ortoxic. Solid wastes may be further classified in the following manner:“garbage” which is decomposable wastes from food; “rubbish” which isdecomposable wastes, either combustible (such as paper, wood, and cloth)or non-combustible (such as metal, glass, plastics and ceramics).

[0012] It has become known that the traditional rendering devices suchas hydrolyzers do not work with all materials and fail miserably whentrying to process MSW. Similarly, the know how associated withconventional rendering processes is not applicable to a processing ofcertain wastes such as MSW in a similar manner. Until now, a suitablehydrolyzer for sustained continuous flow and rendering of raw wastessuch as MSW has not been invented.

[0013] In all known methods of solid waste disposal (e.g., reduction,treatment or resource recovery), the resultant end product may furtherinclude microbes or microorganisms that require careful considerationand handling prior to disposal. In such cases the by-products arebelieved to remain waste materials not suitable for use ortransformation into useful articles.

[0014] The art to which the invention relates generally includes U.S.Pat. No. 6,017,475 granted to Cantrell and incorporated by reference asif fully set forth herein. The '475 patent is directed to a processtransforming municipal solid waste into useful materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Preprocessed municipal solid waste is then transferred, eitherautomatically or manually, into a hydrolyzer by the components of thepresent invention. The hydrolyzer metamorphically processes thepreprocessed volume of MSW into a useful end product. The preferredbio-reactor is similar in appearance to a conventional hydrolyzer, butthe two are distinctly different devices. The preferred hydrolyzerapparatus is also available from Bouldin & Lawson, Inc. and is a noveland nonobvious design.

[0016] In sum, the hydrolyzer includes an outer containment vesselhaving an exterior jacket and an interior pressure vessel. An airspaceexists between the interior vessel and the jacket. A heated steam inletand exit are attached to the jacket and communicate with the air space.The preprocessed material is introduced into the interior pressurevessel of the hydrolyzer automatically by an inventive gate system andeither before or after its introduction therein, the operator introducesheated steam into the air space surrounding the interior vessel to heatthe interior vessel and the preprocessed municipal solid waste insideit.

[0017] A preferred temperature of the steam is 350 degrees Fahrenheitwhich, depending upon the preselected interior volume of the hydrolyzer,has an associated internal operating pressure. The present inventionautomatically transfers the preprocessed material such as municipalsolid waste from system component to system component in a continuousfashion.

[0018] Of course, the process of the present invention could be carriedout at other temperature and pressure ranges, but the associated timefor completion of the inventive process at these other temperature andpressures will vary significantly. That is, the greater the temperatureand pressure in the hydrolyzer, the faster the chemical reactions occur.However, a practical upper and lower limit to pressure and temperatureexists.

[0019] The pressure and temperature, in conjunction with the compositionof the MSW, acts as the catalyst to speed the chemical reaction ofdecomposition of the MSW within the vessel. This high temperature andpressure environment causes the MSW to rapidly decompose into its basicconstituent elements, and allows them to recombine or remain in theirorganic cellulose form, and it kills bacteria once living within theMSW.

[0020] When the processing is complete, the processed aggregatecellulose is removed from the hydrolyzer. The aggregate end product is amixture of cellulose fibers and other elements present in the MSW priorto processing. The aggregate cellulose may be dried, compressed orextruded or otherwise used manufacture useful articles. For example, theaggregate cellulose can also be used to manufacture plasticene crossties, and building materials such as bricks, blocks, and the like.

[0021] The present invention may be summarized in a variety of ways oneof which is the following: a material handling system for a hydrolyzeror hydrolyzer, comprising a material injection assembly furthercomprising a ram, a cylinder having a cylinder shaft for reciprocatingthe ram upon actuation of the cylinder shaft, a sleeve having aninterior in which the ram reciprocates during use; a gate having a gateplate operable from between an open and a closed position; the gateplate has an aperture formed therethrough and the aperture is sized toenable a plug of compressed municipal solid waste to pass through itwhen the gate plate is in the open position; and a material exitassembly.

[0022] The preferred embodiment further includes switch means foropening and closing the gate plate depending upon the reciprocalposition of the ram. A plurality of proximity switches for determiningthe discrete position of the ram are also provided. An embodiment of thematerial handling further comprises a hopper supported by the sleeve andhaving an open bottom which communicates with an opening in the sleeve,a ram having an exterior shape similar to the interior of the sleeve inorder to block the opening in the sleeve when municipal solid waste iscompressed within the sleeve. A tenon mounted to the cylinder andpositioned to touch the contact switches during reciprocation of the ramto actuate the switches and the opening or closing of the gate plate isalso provided. A platform for supporting the material injection assemblyin axial alignment with the horizontal axis of the hydrolyzer is alsoprovided.

[0023] The gate further comprises a pair of space apart end plates andthe gate plate is interpositioned between the pair of space apart endplates and reciprocates freely therebetween. The end plates areconfigured to allow a plug of municipal solid waste to passtherethrough.

[0024] The preferred processed material handling apparatus, or FLUFFhandling apparatus, further comprises a processed material compactionchamber; and a plunger assembly attached to the compaction chamber andfurther including a working cylinder having a cylinder shaft and a ramoperably connected to the shaft enabling the ram to compact processedmaterial within the compaction chamber upon actuation of the cylinderand the extension of the shaft therefrom.

[0025] The present invention may also be summarized as follows: amaterial handling system for a hydrolyzer or hydrolyzer, comprising amaterial injection assembly, a material exit assembly further comprisinga gate having a gate plate operable from between an open and a closedposition, wherein the gate plate has an aperture formed therethrough andthe aperture is sized to enable processed material within the hydrolyzeror hydrolyzer to pass through it when the gate plate is in the openposition and exit the vessel.

[0026] Yet another way of summarizing the present invention is asfollows: a material injection assembly and a material exit assembly andeach further comprising a gate having a gate plate operable from betweenan open and a closed position and the gate plate has an aperture formedtherethrough and the aperture is sized to enable a plug of compressedmunicipal solid waste to pass through it when the gate plate is in theopen position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027]FIG. 1 is a side view of a hydrolyzer;

[0028]FIG. 2 is a side view of the inlet infeed section of thehydrolyzer shown in FIG. 1;

[0029]FIG. 3 is a top view of the inlet infeed section shown in FIG. 2;

[0030]FIG. 4A is a partial cross-sectional view of the inlet infeedportion shown in FIG. 2 with the ram and gate members shown in a firstposition;

[0031]FIG. 4B is a partial cross-sectional view of the inlet infeedportion shown in FIG. 2 with the ram member shown in a second positionand the gate member shown in the first position;

[0032]FIG. 4C is a partial cross-sectional view of the inlet infeedportion shown in FIG. 2 with the ram member shown in a third positionand the gate member shown in the first position;

[0033]FIG. 4D is a partial cross-sectional view of the inlet infeedportion shown in FIG. 2 with the ram member shown in the third positionand the gate member shown in the second position;

[0034]FIG. 4E is a partial cross-sectional view of the inlet infeedportion shown in FIG. 2 with the ram member shown in a first positionand the gate member shown in the second position;

[0035]FIGS. 5A and 5C are top views of the optional material exitprocessed material handling portion of the present invention; and

[0036]FIGS. 5B and 5D are end views of the optional material exitprocessed material handling portion shown with the optional materialshuttle mechanism shown in a first position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

[0037] With reference to FIG. 1, a hydrolyzer is designated generally bythe reference numeral 36. Hydrolyzer 36 includes a cylindrical pressurevessel 38, and a material injection assembly designated generally by thereference numeral 40. Platform 41 elevates and supports the variouscomponents above the ground.

[0038] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the material injection assembly 40further includes a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 42 operably connectedto a ram 44. An infeed regulator gate assembly is also provided and isdesignated generally by the reference numeral 46. The gate assembly 46includes a vertically (as shown but also be at any angle) orientedpneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 48 operably connected to a sliding gateassembly 50 which opens and closes an internal passageway into thehydrolyzer 38 at an inlet end 52 which is opposite the exit end 54having exit port 56.

[0039] FIGS. 4A-4E are provided to illustrate the operation of thematerial injection assembly 40 during use. Cylinder 42 further includesa cylinder shaft 43 operably coupled to the ram 44 by a pin engagement45 such that the stroke of the shaft 43 is immediately transferred tothe ram 44 which moves inside the pipe sleeve 47 having a first open end49 in communication with the hopper 34 and a second open end coincidingwith the hydrolyzer inlet 52.

[0040] The sliding gate assembly 50 further comprises opposing endplates 60 and a reciprocating gate plate 62 interpositionedtherebetween. The gate plate 62 is operably connected to the cylinder 48at the shaft coupling 53 of the shaft 51 and slides vertically betweenthe end plates 60 which are secured to the pipe sleeve 47 via attachmentcollars 64. Municipal solid waste plug 66 is formed within the pipesleeve 47 by the introduction of the loose, preprocessed, municipalsolid waste 68 entering the hopper 34 and feeding into the sleeve atopening 49. The plug 66 is moved into the hydrolyzer at inlet end 52 andrapidly disassociates into a less dense mass of material 69 forprocessing.

[0041] In use, the proximity contact switches 70 transmit open and closesignals to a control station (not shown) when the tenon 42 touches aportion of the switch 70 as the shaft 43 moves reciprocally. Thematerial injection assembly 40, the proximity switches 70, and thepreferred processed material handling assembly 100 (FIGS. 5A-5D) aremore thoroughly described in the Mode of Operation set forth below.

[0042] With reference to FIGS. 5A-5D, the municipal solid waste 69processed within the hydrolyzer 38 exits the vessel at port 56 andenters the processed material handling apparatus 100 at its inlet 58.Inlet 58 further includes a vessel coupling collar 59 configured forsecure attachment to a cooperating collar associated with the hydrolyzer38 (see FIG. 1).

[0043] The preferred embodiment of the processed material handlingapparatus 100 includes a compaction chamber 102 which receives theprocessed municipal solid waste or FLUFF material (FLUFF is a trademarkof Bouldin Corporation, McMinnville, Tenn.) exiting the hydrolyzer 38and compresses it via the plunger assembly 104. Plunger assembly 104further includes a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 106 having a shaft108 attached to a ram 109. The plunger assembly 104 is securely attachedto the compaction chamber 102 by a mating cooperating collar 110. Fins112 provide structural support for the compaction tube 113 to resistbending and maintain the alignment with the ram 109 which reciprocatestherein.

[0044] The force of the ram 109 on the FLUFF material is sufficient toproduce a compressed block of FLUFF material (not shown). Block cutterassembly 124 includes a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 126 attached atone end to a frame 120 at cross-member 125. Cylinder shaft 127 isoperably attached to the knife 128 which slides between opposing halvesof the 120. Knife 128 further includes an aperture 132 which isconfigured to be aligned with the compaction tube 113.

[0045] Containment assembly 114 consists of a truss 115 to which acontainment cylinder 116 is attached. Cylinder shaft 117 terminates in astop plate 119 which serves as the backstop of the ram 109 enabling theFLUFF interpositioned between the ram 109 and stop plate 119 to form acompressed block having the exterior dimension resembling the interiorconfiguration of the compaction tube 113 during use.

[0046] Wheeled carriage assemblies 134 and 136 enable the FLUFF handlingapparatus to be supported and mobile as the knife 128 cuts the compactedFLUFF into individual blocks after the compaction tube 113 if full ofcompressed material as determined by the bottom of the stroke of thecylinder shaft 117 which is overpowered by the stroke of the cylindershaft 108 during the compaction of the block.

[0047] Mode of Operation.

[0048] With reference to FIGS. 4A and 4E, the ram 44 is in its fullyextended hydrolyzer loading position. The plug 66 is being introducedinto the hydrolyzer 38 (FIG. 4E) with the gate plate 62 in its raisedposition in order to align its aperture 63 with the interior of the pipesleeve 47. The plug 66 then rapidly dissociates into a less dense massas designated by the numeral 69 and the gate plate 62 closes by beingdriven vertically downward in the drawing.

[0049] With reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B the ram 44 is then withdrawnfrom its fully extended first position (4A) to its fully extractedsecond position (4B). In this position, preprocessed municipal solidwaste 68 is allowed to freely fall from the hopper 34 into the pipesleeve 47 prior to forming a complete plug 66 (compare FIGS. 4B and 4Cwith respect to the plug 66). It is important to note, furtherextraction of the ram 44 is prevented by the proximity switch 70 beingactuated by the tenon 72 traveling with the cylinder shaft 43. In likemanner the proximity switches 70 are actuated at each of the three rampositions in order to coordinate the movement of the gate plate 62 inrelation thereto.

[0050] With reference to FIGS. 4B and 4C, the ram 44 is pushed to itsthird position closing off the inlet 49 from the hopper 34 and formingthe competed plug 66 as indicated by the plug seam 67 of FIG. 4C. Thegate plate 62 is still in its closed position allowing the plug to beuniformly compressed and eliminate the seam 67. With reference to FIGS.4C and 4D, the gate plate 62 is raised by actuation of the cylindershaft 51 enabling the pipe sleeve 47 to communicate with the interior ofthe hydrolyzer 38 prior to the forceful insertion of the plug 66therein.

[0051] With reference to FIGS. 4D and 4E, the plug is driven into theinterior for the hydrolyzer by the ram 44 until the ram 44 reaches itsfully extended position as determined by the contact between theproximity switch 70 and tenon 72. At this time the gate plate 62 closes(FIG. 4E).

[0052] With reference to FIGS. 5A-5D, after a sufficient amount of FLUFFis released from the hydrolyzer 38 and input into the FLUFF handlingapparatus 100, the ram 109 compresses the FLUFF into a block asdescribed above. The compression and compaction of FLUFF continues untilsuch time as the force of the block onto the stop plate 119 overcomesthe force of the cylinder 116 driving it to its fully compressedposition (FIGS. 5A and 5B).

[0053] With reference to FIGS. 5C and 5D, the cylinder 126 forces theknife 128 to cut the compacted block into a discrete size depending uponthe volume of the compaction tube 113 which travels with the knife asshown in FIG. 5C. In this position, the block may be expelled into anoptional expansion chamber 150 where it may be allowed to cool or bedispersed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A material handling system for a hydrolyzer,comprising: a material injection assembly further comprising: a ram, acylinder having a cylinder shaft for reciprocating the ram uponactuation of the cylinder shaft, a sleeve having an interior in whichthe ram reciprocates during use; a gate having a gate plate operablefrom between an open and a closed position; the gate plate has anaperture formed therethrough and the aperture is sized to enable a plugof compressed municipal solid waste to pass through it when the gateplate is in the open position; and a material exit assembly.
 2. Thematerial handling system of claim 1, further comprising: switch meansfor opening and closing the gate plate depending upon the reciprocalposition of the ram.
 3. The material handling system of claim 2, whereinthe switch means further includes: a plurality of proximity switches fordetermining the discrete position of the ram.
 4. The material handlingsystem of claim 1, further comprising: a hopper supported by the sleeveand having an open bottom which communicates with an opening in thesleeve.
 5. The material handling system of claim 4, further comprising:a ram having an exterior shape similar to the interior of the sleeve inorder to block the opening in the sleeve when municipal solid waste iscompressed within the sleeve.
 6. The material handling system of claim2, further comprising: a tenon mounted to the cylinder and positioned totouch the contact switches during reciprocation of the ram to actuatethe switches and the opening or closing of the gate plate.
 7. Thematerial handling system of claim 1, further comprising: a platform forsupporting the material injection assembly in axial alignment with thehorizontal axis of the hydrolyzer.
 8. The material handling system ofclaim 1, wherein the gate further comprises: a pair of space apart endplates.
 9. The material handling system of claim 8, wherein: the gateplate is interpositioned between the pair of space apart end plates andreciprocates freely therebetween.
 10. The material handling system ofclaim 9, wherein: the end plates are configured to allow a plug ofmunicipal solid waste to pass therethrough.
 11. The material handlingsystem of claim 1, wherein the material exit assembly further comprises:a processed material handling apparatus.
 12. The material handlingapparatus of claim 11, wherein the processed material handling apparatusfurther comprises: a processed material compaction chamber; and aplunger assembly attached to the compaction chamber and furtherincluding a working cylinder having a cylinder shaft and a ram operablyconnected to the shaft enabling the ram to compact processed materialwithin the compaction chamber upon actuation of the cylinder and theextension of the shaft therefrom.
 13. A material handling system for ahydrolyzer, comprising: a material injection assembly; a material exitassembly further comprising a gate having a gate plate operable frombetween an open and a closed position; wherein the gate plate has anaperture formed therethrough and the aperture is sized to enableprocessed material within the hydrolyzer to pass through it when thegate plate is in the open position and exit the vessel.
 14. The materialhandling system of claim 13, further comprising: switch means foropening and closing the gate plate.
 15. The material handling system ofclaim 14, wherein the switch means further includes: a plurality ofproximity switches for determining the discrete position of a ramassociated with the material injection assembly.
 16. The materialhandling system of claim 15, wherein the material injection assemblyfurther comprises: a hopper supported by the sleeve and having an openbottom which communicates with an opening in the sleeve.
 17. Thematerial handling system of claim 16, wherein the material injectionassembly further comprises: a ram having an exterior shape similar tothe interior of the sleeve in order to block the opening in the sleevewhen municipal solid waste is compressed within the sleeve.
 18. Thematerial handling system of claim 13, further comprising: a platform forsupporting the material injection assembly in axial alignment with ahorizontal axis of the hydrolyzer.
 19. The material handling system ofclaim 13, wherein the gate further comprises: a pair of space apart endplates.
 20. The material handling system of claim 19, wherein: the gateplate is interpositioned between the pair of space apart end plates andreciprocates freely therebetween.
 21. The material handling system ofclaim 20, wherein: the end plates are configured to allow processedmaterial to pass therethrough.
 22. The material handling system of claim13, wherein the material exit assembly further comprises: a processedmaterial handling apparatus.
 23. The material handling apparatus ofclaim 22, wherein the FLUFF handling apparatus further comprises: aprocessed material compaction chamber; and a plunger assembly attachedto the compaction chamber and further including a working cylinderhaving a cylinder shaft and a ram operably connected to the shaftenabling the ram to compact processed material within the compactionchamber upon actuation of the cylinder and the extension of the shafttherefrom.
 24. A material handling system for a hydrolyzer, comprising:a material injection assembly and a material exit assembly and eachfurther comprising: a gate having a gate plate operable from between anopen and a closed position and the gate plate has an aperture formedtherethrough and the aperture is sized to enable a plug of compressedmunicipal solid waste to pass through it when the gate plate is in theopen position.
 25. The material handling system of claim 24, furthercomprising: switch means for opening and closing the gate platedepending upon the reciprocal position of a ram associated with thematerial injection assembly.
 26. The material handling system of claim25, wherein the switch means further includes: a plurality of proximityswitches for determining the discrete position of the ram.
 27. Thematerial handling system of claim 24, further comprising: a hoppersupported by a sleeve associated with the material injection assemblyand having an open bottom which communicates with an opening in thesleeve.
 28. The material handling system of claim 27, furthercomprising: a ram having an exterior shape similar to the interior ofthe sleeve in order to block the opening in the sleeve when municipalsolid waste is compressed within the sleeve.
 29. The material handlingsystem of claim 26, further comprising: a tenon mounted to the cylinderand positioned to touch the contact switches during reciprocation of theram to actuate the switches and the opening or closing of the gateplate.
 30. The material handling system of claim 24, further comprising:a platform for supporting the material injection assembly in axialalignment with the horizontal axis of the hydrolyzer.
 31. The materialhandling system of claim 24, wherein the gate further comprises: a pairof space apart end plates.
 32. The material handling system of claim 31,wherein: the gate plate is interpositioned between the pair of spaceapart end plates and reciprocates freely therebetween.
 33. The materialhandling system of claim 32, wherein: the end plates are configured toallow material to pass therethrough.
 34. The material handling system ofclaim 24, wherein the material exit assembly further comprises: aprocessed material handling apparatus.
 35. The material handlingapparatus of claim 34, wherein the FLUFF handling apparatus furthercomprises: a processed material compaction chamber; and a plungerassembly attached to the compaction chamber and further including aworking cylinder having a cylinder shaft and a ram operably connected tothe shaft enabling the ram to compact processed material within thecompaction chamber upon actuation of the cylinder and the extension ofthe shaft therefrom.